Well, another day of preaching and worship has winded down to a close and as I reflect on the day and thank God for what He has done I realize and accept the fact that, once again, I earned a "little slap from God." Let me explain.
As I lay in the bed this morning before rising I listened to the raindrops. In fact it rained most of the night. Anyway, as I lay there I was thinking, well, I know what this means, attendance is going to be a wash out today and all of the hard work in laboring in the word and making preparation all week long is going to fall on deaf ears.
Upon arriving at the church and seeing just a small handful of cars on the parking lot I perceived in my feeble mind, that "you were right." I went through the usual routine of sitting in on Sunday School, while continuing to pray for the worship. As the worship began the crowd was, just as I had predicted, pretty thin, and I was, (unconsciously of course) saying, "yes, you were right." I continued to pray and just made up my mind that "it really don't matter", I am just going to preach as the Lord has directed and the few of us that are here are going to "give God the glory." From this point forward in the worship I was just totally not focused on the number of folks who were or were not there. My heart, my mind, my thoughts and my focus was on the word. God blessed the word and the worship in a great way and, I'm not making this up, it was not until the benediction that I actually noticed that the Lord had grown the number of folks that were there. It was then that I realized that, "once again", I had gotten a little "slap from God." A "little slap" to let me know afresh that He, not me, is in charge of this business! A "little slap" to let me know that He, not me, is the center of attraction. A "little slap" to let me know that He, is not hung up or even concerned about the numbers. A "little slap" to let me know that He, not me, already knew exactly who would and who would not be in attendance.
Now, as strange at it may sound, I love these "little slaps" from God. I thank God for them. And I repent and apologize to God for ever having these little feeble thoughts and feelings.
Well, I know that this little blog probably does not make much sense to anybody but me but, hey, it has made me feel better to share it. God is good and He loves us more that we love ourselves and because of His great love for us He gives us a "little slap" every now and then. Thank God for the "little slap."
By the tie of Calvary,
Pastor W.L. Pullam
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14 comments:
Dr. Pullam, I am so glad to make your acquaintance and to welcome you to the world of blogging, both you and your wife. Your sons have been a blessing to me in the recent days through their faithfulness to the Word of God. Which leads me to see where they received their passions for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it is obvious that they have spent many days sitting at the feet of a wise Pastor. I am looking forward to reading your passions. God Be praised!
Pastor Pullam,
Thanks for this insightful post. I always wondered what to call those moment when God whips us for falsely predicting how His people will respond. Praise God for your ministry and welcome to the blogging community.
Thank you Pastor Mann and Pastor Mcghee. I am honored to meet you both and I am happy and excited to be a part of the world of blogging thanks to the persistence and prompting of my lovely wife and my two preaching sons. God bless you both and I look forward to reading and continuing to benefit from all that you both share.
Greetings... I can totally relate to what you are saying. Especially being that we are in the same city and I was thinking much the same thing. However, God proved Himself to be faithful once again. The reality is that a packed pew doesn't gaurantee a powerful praise. But, one thing I am coming to discover is that God will honor us when we are faithful and committed to Him in worship and word irregardless of the numbers. Thank you for the post. It was most helpful.
Pastor, our worship experience inspite of the rain was truly a blessing, as well as the powerful word that was brought to us. I was also bracing myself for a thin crowd but God saw fit to bring them out. God bless the faithful and committed few. And, may He stir up those who need to be more mindful of collective worship on the Lord's day. God be praised
Thank you Pastor Pullam. It is encouraging to know that after feeling like God is slapping me all the time back into reality, He has to even deal with others as well. So, I am not the only one. I have seen time after time the miraculous workings of the Lord but still I have to be reminded every once in a while. Is this called spiritual forgetfulness? Meanwhile, I will continue to trust in the all mighty God.
Thank you.
Uncle William,
I love the term "little slap". I too thank God for those gentle reminders. As believers we must be ever careful to hear and obey the word of the Lord, not thinking too highly of ourselves and the abilities he's blessed us with. It is at those times when we do not feel those "little slaps" that we need to be afraid because that means we are far away from God. As long as He gives us those loving reminders, we know that we are His and He is ours there to lead, guide and protect at all time.
Love you,
Connye
WOW...Pastor. You that people of color (any shade) is scared of the rain. We try not to get our hair wet and let our make-up run...lol. But we will be there to hear the word from God...late but there. This is no excuse and I am not one to talk (write). But you know why I am not there. Just remember that God said "where there is 2 or 3" he is in the mist. I know the kind of Pastor that I have and the message was heard by one or two and that is all God needs. Be encouraged Pastor because God has great things instore for our Church. Just pray for those that are slowfull and unconcerned. Keep doing the do and YOU WILL BE BLESSED. I know that you pray that blessing for us, but without you we can not be blessed.
Love always.
Dad,
I understand what you mean! Thanks for the blog. Love you!
Dee
Good Morning Pastor!
I know that you have been in prayer constantly and consistently for those that are slowful and unconcerned but we must remember that God is in control and as you stated he had who he wanted to be there and those of us that were in attendance were truly blessed!!! You are doing a magnificent job in leading those that are faithful we have grown tremendously in many areas of our own personally lives!! Be encouraged for you truly are "THE GREATEST PASTOR THIS SIDE OF HEAVEN!!!" I love you much!!!
Morning Dad,
I'm glad to see your blogging. I look forward to reading more.... I'm happy to hear that Christians are learning that worship goes on when it is raining outside. We never give going to work a second thought - just because it is raining. I would hate to think of God not working and moving just because its raining outside. Be encourage! Love you. Twonda
Wow! Many thanks to all of you for the wonderful and encouraging comments and remarks. I thank God for you all.
Pastor Pullam thank you for the encouragement you have provided me for this time and point of my ministry.
Thank you Sir.
Tony R.
I must say that I am repentant as well as inspired. Repentant, for after visiting the blog for days on end to no avail in seeing a post, I quit. NOW...something just told me to stop by and NOW there is a post that is over 2 weeks old and I didn't even know. I am inspired because your words speak to me personally - on a Saturday night, when I am tired, consumed with this past week's pressures, and not knowing how I am going to put together a message that will inspire and exhort our people on tomorrow. Your post has stressed the importance of giving God your best - despite the numbers or the people. This is ultimately about HIM and HIS glory. Thank you for your words.
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